The Beginning of a Long Time Friendship
by Stark'sGirl
Summary: Rhodey/Tony friendship even with a hint of bromance. Not a slash. In his first day at a public school, Tony got in troubles and there is only a person that could save him from the problems he got into.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **The characters are definitely not mine. I have only borrowed them a little to can write this story here. No moneys are made from this story.

**A/N: **This idea came to me when I watched again the first Iron Man movie. This is an AU story about how Rhodey and Tony met and how they became best friends. As a face claim for Maria Stark I'm using Heidi Lamarr and of course as Howard is Dominic Cooper. Maybe I should add Pepper in this one too? I don't know but I'm open to suggestions.

The sun was shining down through the large, crystalline windows and straight into a small room. The rays were dancing across the blue painted walls and stopped on a single bed. The blanket was on a blue fond and tiny, white and red stars were printed over the fabric. The person underneath the covers shifted, as if it was feeling the sun attention in that direction.

A pair of wide, dark brown eyes with long and brown lashes glittered in the sun light as the person blinked a few times. Two tiny hands found their way out from under the covers and stretched up into the air as a muffled yawn came from their source. The person moved even more until a pair of naked feet's touched the soft rug from the floor.

He stood up slowly, pushing aside the rest of the blanket that was still covering his lower half. His hands reached up to smooth the lines from his Captain America PJ's and tug at it gently as if to make it look perfect before he stood up. His eyes darted to the window and he made a quick run to it, the floor hard under his feet's and loud thumps created by his quick pace. He stopped when his nose was touching the window and his hands were on either side of his head as warm breath puffed out from his mouth, blurring the window.

'Anthony?' a female voice broke him apart from his own world and he turned around quickly with a radiating smile over his lips. 'Come on, honey, you are going to be late for school.' The woman added and smiled gently.

'But Mom, the vacation,' The little boy whined and jumped on the bed. 'It had gone too soon. Can't I stay at home more? Please?' His wide eyes found his mothers and he practically begged her with them.

'Oh Anthony,' Maria rolled her eyes and looked at her son. 'Every child goes to normal school. Is your time to go there now also. Now, come on, get dressed and come downstairs.' She opened the room door and stepped out of it before closing it behind her with a soft click.

It didn't took him too long to be ready for his first school day. He had brushed his teeth's and did his hair as good as a eight year old boy could do. He then got dressed with the clothes his mother had prepared for him. A white button up shirt with a pair of black jeans and he looked a lot more as his father than ever. 'I just need a moustache,' he muttered to himself with a smile.

With a happy and proud sigh, Anthony grabbed his backpack and ran out of his room, down the stairs and right to the kitchen. 'Daddy! Daddy!' he screamed and his father held up a hand while he held his forehead with the other.

'Oh God, Anthony, be quiet for once in your life.' Howard muttered and sipped his coffee, not before making a disgusted face and that proved the boy's point. His father drank coffee with salt, again. He let out a sigh and sat on his usual spot at the table, swinging his feet's back and forth under it as he ate his sandwich.

'Ready?' Maria asked her son as he got inside the car. He only nodded, holding his backpack in his lap and brushing the imaginary dust off it. He caught sight of his mother's reassuring smile in the reviewing mirror and he returned it even if he was more than nervous to go at school.

Being homeschooled the first two years of school, Anthony never had the occasion to make friends. He never went to the kindergarden as other childrens his age did. He never got the chance to socialize with other peoples aside from his father's alcoholic friends or business partners. His mother was the one that kept him away from it with her fear that one day, her little Anthony would be kidnapped or killed if he got out in didn't even realize when his mother pulled up in front of the school building but he heard her sigh and that was enough.

'Okay, Anthony,' she began and faked one of her perfect smiles. 'You be a good boy and listen to everything the teacher says. Don't get into fights, okay?'

'Yes, Mom,' he responded, clearly exasperated to hear the same things ever since the middle of the summer vacation. He leant in and kissed her on the cheek before he whispered a quiet 'good-bye' and jumped out of the car.

The classes went fine and as always, Anthony knew most of the questions that were put by the teacher. He was a genius, that was for sure. Probably the combination between the genial mind of his father and the inventive one of his mother created that but the idea was that he was smart. Smarter than the other childrens. And more talkative also.

'Starky,' a boy's voice echoed in Anthony's ears as he took out his lunch box from his backpack. 'Whatcha got?' the boy reached up with a hand and shoved Anthony's shoulder making him back against the wall.

'Martin,' a thick but yet young voice came from behind. 'Leave him alone, will you? Aren't you tired to do the same the whole time?' the voice source stepped forward and revealed it to be a dark skinned boy.

He was tall and his skin was at color as a light chocolate. He couldn't be older than eleven or so but he seemed much younger than he was. His face was the same shape as a baby's but his eyes burnt with hater and anger that caused Anthony to step back even more. His hair was short but he could see that it was curly. Typical African curly hair.

'Oh, look who's here,' Martin rolled his eyes and turned around to see the other boy. 'Screw off, monkey.' He didn't get to say another word as he felt a feet hit his knees and get him on the floor with a loud thump. Martin's eyes widened and he crawled over the floor before he finally stood up and ran away.

'You okay?' the dark skinned boy asked. 'Don't mind him. He's an idiot. He does the same with everyone.'

'Mhm, I'm fine.' He reassured with a small smile. Anthony only nodded at his last statement and fiddled with his lunch box before stuffing it back into his backpack then zipped it.

'Hey, what's your name?' the boy asked and arched an eyebrow at the other boy in front of him. Something about him seemed familiar but he couldn't place it from where yet.

'Anthony,' he muttered and looked up at the older boy. 'Anthony Stark.' He added to seem even more polite. After all, that boy saved him from getting his ass kicked.

'The son of _the _Stark? _That _Stark?' he looked at Anthony with an arched eyebrow. 'I'm James Rhodes. But friends call me Jimmy.' He said with a wide smile. 'My father works with yours, ya know.'

Anthony frowned for a minute as he tried to get his memories back about other boy's last name but nothing came out. 'I don't use to call peoples as other does.' He shrugged lightly and looked at the other boy. 'I'll call you Rhodey.'

James chuckled and shook his head slightly. 'Okay, then, Stark.' He said with a smirk on his lips as he leant against the wall. 'Hey, wanna grab some lunch? I'm starving.'

Anthony only nodded and threw his backpack over his shoulder with a smile. Something inside him told him that the two of them will turn up being good friends, especially that their fathers worked together. That was a good point in their future friendship.

**Should I continue or not? Please leave a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Late update, I know. Sorry about it guys but holidays had been hectic and not to mention the fact that my computer got virused. I'll update the other stories soon also.

Sorry if I made grammar mistakes or such, as I said, English is not my first language.

7 Years Later

The bright sun shone through the barely visible white clouds that surrounded the skyline. It was a pleasable morning, totally unlike the other winter days in New York. The first snow flakes began to fall on the streets, making a lot of children happy and their parent's eyes roll. Not many people from New York enjoyed the cold or the snow, that was already well known.

'Anthony,' Maria Stark's voice echoed through the house, 'is already eight o'clock. James should be here anytime.'

It was the last day of school before the Christmas holidays and Tony used his vacantion in Philadelphia to visit Rhodes parents as excuse to don't go to school that day too. And to 'visit' his parents in New York to take some stuff. Of course, those were only excuses, truth was, he always hated going to school. The last days were the most boring ones. Not to mention that there were no engineering or physics classes at all in the last school week.

'Coming!' The amused and loud voice called back from the stairs case. The brunette teenager struggled to get down his luggage without luck as the dark purple colored suitcase fell down the stairs and at his mother's feet. 'Oops, my bad,' he shrugged with an innocent smile as he leant to pick up his suitcase.

The door bell made the brunette woman's head turn enough to catch sight of a tall and well build shape through the blurry window beside the door. She immediately recognized the shape being the one of her son's friend and she flashed Tony a mean glare. Trust Tony to be ready the first when no one is and be the last when everyone is waiting for him.

Not even giving his mother time to give him another lecture about the fact that he woke up at five and he wasn't ready yet even if he had the vacantion planned since the beginning of the year, Tony jumped the last stair before making a quick run to the door. 'Rhodey!' His voice was loud and high pitched as he opened the door.

Being the older one from the two of them even if only four years were keeping them away, Rhodes had already began and nearly finished the college. That kept the two of them apart for most of the time, Tony being with his own courses at the MIT only because he was a genius and he had only two years left before he could graduate even if at that age he should only finish the high school. Blame that on his genius father for creating such a son.

Well, and Rhodes went to fullfil his dream of being an army man and serving his country. Tony could never understand that, in fact he could but he was quite afraid for his friend's safety. Even if he was the most popular and rich kid from his college, he could only trust Rhodes when it came to his secrets. He was his best friend after all, it all began with his first day at school. They were like brother's ever since.

'Tony,' Rhodes rolled his eyes but he couldn't stop the smile that formed on his lips. He missed Tony with his stupid jokes, immature character and all. 'How many times should I tell you to stop calling me 'Rhodey' because we're not children anymore?'

Ever since the two of them went to high school, Rhodes tried to make Tony stop calling him Rhodey because he thought it sounded childish. However, he regreted saying that because ever since, Tony won't stop calling him Rhodey around his friends and that made Rhodes want to strangle him sometimes but he never could catch up with the teenage genius.

'C'mon, Rhodey,' Tony teased and patted his friend's shoulder with a hand. 'See the good side of the things, at least I don't call you teddy bear anymore.' Both of them chuckled at that and Rhodes shook his head. Trust Tony to make you forget about the important things. He was such a distraction sometimes.

Rhodes leant against the door frame with a shoulder, his position giving him enough access to see the big suit case that was thrown in the middle of the hallway. 'Is that yours?' The dark skinned man asked, his brows raising near his hair line.

'Let me explain,' Tony began but he was soon cut off by his best friend's mean glare. God help him, he was in trouble now. He promised Rhodes that he won't take the whole garderobe with him again but it seemed that he couldn't stop packing. He had a thing to have always clothes with him and that only added to Rhodes annoyance.

'You promised!' Rhodes whined, his hands falling by his sides as a frustrated sigh escaped his lips. 'Seriously, Tony, why can't you act as a man and not a diva for once in your life?'

Tony just shrugged, knowing that he couldn't. He was, what people call it, a man that liked to be with in tone with the fashion. Unlike the other boys his age, Tony did went shopping once a month and he would empty his credit card. He had everything in his closet, from different colors and models of underwear until the most elegant suits that he used when his father dragged him to business meetings that he hated with a burning passion.

'Boys, you are going to be late.' Maria called out to them from the hallway, a green colored cloth stuffed between her hands as she looked over at her boys. Yes, her boys, because she always considered Rhodes as being her son too. Maybe that was because Tony always brought him home when they were children or because Rhodes always brought Tony home when he was drunk. She couldn't tell why but she loved Rhodes dearly as well.

'Take your stuff and let's go,' Rhodes said, mentioning with his head toward Tony's silver Audi before leaning toward the door again, 'It was good to see you, Mrs. Stark!' He called out with a wide smile that could melt steel before running off toward the car.

Tony ran straight to his suitcase and grabbed it with a hand before kissing his mother's cheek gently. 'I'll call you when I get in Philadelphia.' He called out over his shoulder then ran outside and to the car, throwing his suitcase in the car trunk before getting in the driver seat, getting ready to have some fun with his best friend for the Christmas vacantion.


End file.
